If you’re not enough before the money, you won’t be enough with it.

We love thinking about how much money other people have, from googling our favourite celebrities net worth, to musing about how people we know can afford to buy that house. I absolutely get the curiosity there, as there’s something rather mysterious about how much money people have and where they invest it.

It can be so easy to get distracted by someone’s apparent wealth, and presume their life must be wonderful. But many of our fundamental human problems, insecurities and worries, don’t disappear overnight with money.

Sure, they may be able to afford the best trainer, hairdresser and personal chef that money can buy, but if they’re unhappy with their life and their relationships, no amount of money is going to fix that.

I say this especially to those at the beginning of their financial journey, who are looking at others ahead of them with significantly more established financial portfolios. It can be disheartening to see someone the same age of you that “has it all sorted out” and got started 10 years earlier than you.

But this number doesn’t tell you anything about who they are and where they’ve been. 

Making comparisons without any context, often leads to feeling that you’ve fallen behind an arbitrary number, which is hardly going to encourage you on your journey.

The money you save and invest is one piece of the puzzle, but it isn’t the whole picture.

Along the journey, it’s important to figure out who you are, what you value and what “enough” means to you. 

Money may highlight our flaws, but it can also be used to amplify our values.

If supporting a particular organisation is important, then having more time and money to give can make a huge impact. But, you can still support this cause in the lead up to hitting your financial goals.

Don’t expect to magically become the person you want to be when you hit a certain net worth, start becoming that person today.

Remember, your net worth does not equal your self worth. A wonderful, well-lived life is measured by much more than dollars and cents.